It’s a question I am asked often, and the answer is – ‘it is everything’. It is part-blog, part fashion and lifestyle directory, part online community. It is a labour of love and a dream that has been in the works for more than a few years now. It is about our mantra ‘blogging diversity – creating community’.

At FleshTone.net, we find the very best FleshTone products from across a variety of genres – dance, fashion, beauty, lifestyle and art and invite you to have your say on your experience. Together, we are seeking to build a comprehensive online resource for all things FleshTone.

From a young age, I knew instinctively why representation matters. My siblings and I would pour over the monthly issue of Ebony Magazine, fascinated by people of colour ‘doing regular things’ in paid advertisements and editorials. Having Ebony in the household was life affirming for my young impressionable mind. It showed me that everything was possible and that we were beautiful.

Having danced from a young age, it was always disconcerting when asked to produce or buy costumes, tights and other apparel in ‘skin colour’. Skin colour in that context was a micro-aggression. It was a colour made to approximate all variation of beige, and did not include others. I had to go without or skip the performance.

Move forward a decade or two and while things have changed, some things have remained the same. What’s changed, and what has inspired the creation of FleshTone.net is the amazing work that brands are doing to diversify and expand their definition of ‘fleshtone’. By collating these brands in one place, fleshtone.net has made the search for these products and what real women and men are saying about these products, so much easier.

And while some things remain the same, and beige in many spheres of society remains the status quo, things are moving forward rapidly. There are brands out there for whom selling more than one hue of the same product, makes perfect business sense.

And as for our children, there is now so much more available to them than the pages of Ebony Magazine. How children play and what they play with is also part of the FleshTone.net story.

FleshTone.net is a resource and community that is growing all the time. It’s amazing to see that we are finding it difficult to keep up with all of the FleshTone products to list and review. We need your help to keep our global community informed and have your voice heard on the products made with you in mind.

We ask you to join the movement that is gaining real momentum. Support those start-ups and other businesses redefining FleshTone. Have your say on the FleshTone products that matter to you. Together we are Blogging Diversity and Creating Community.